Did you see the full Moon rise on Wednesday night?
Once every 29 nights our natural satellite in space is 100%-lit by the Sun and rises in the east during dusk to produce a spectacular light-show as it appears on the horizon draped in orange hues.
That time was dusk on Wednesday, February 16, 2022 as the “Snow Moon”—the second full Moon of 2022 after January’s “Wolf Moon”—was seen rising from around the globe.
It was a special treat for moon-gazers everywhere, but none more so than those in Europe who were able to see it moments after it was officially 100% full.
The Moon is full when it’s got the Earth between it and the Sun. On that evening it rises opposite a a recently set/about to set Sun. As it does it creeps above the eastern horizon a pale orange color before eventually turning yellow, then becoming too bright to look at.
It’s orange because the light is coming through a dense part of Earth’s atmosphere. Light towards the blue end of the spectrum has shorter wavelengths so is scattered on particles in the Earth’s atmosphere while light towards the red end of the spectrum has longer wavelengths so travel through more easily.
Although you’ve now missed the Moon being full for another month or so, it’s a fact that to most people the Moon will look full tonight and tomorrow. However, it will rise a little later—about 45 minutes later each night—so you won’t see it during dusk.
Also called the “Hunger Moon” and the “Storm Moon,” the “Snow Moon” gets its name because February is the time when snow is most likely to be on the ground in North America.
The Moon is always half-lit by the Sun. However, from here on Earth it doesn’t look that way. That’s because the moon is constantly orbiting, getting further from the Sun as it waxes to full Moon, then closer to it as it wanes to a New Moon.
New Moon is when our satellite is between the Earth and the Sun. It’s therefore not visible, though sometimes causes an eclipse of the Sun (which this year occur on May and October, though they are merely partial solar eclipses, not dramatic total solar eclipses). The next New Moon is on March 2, 2022,
Meanwhile, total lunar eclipses will occur twice in 2022 and both will be visible in North America. On both May 16, 2022 and on November 8, 2022 our planet will be between the Sun and the Moon. During the event the Moon will transit through Earth’s shadow in space, something it does only occasionally.
During totality the lunar surface will turn a reddish-copper colour because all of the light on the Moon will have been filtered by Earth’s atmosphere—for the same reason that last night’s rising full Moon was orange when close to the horizon.
The second full Moon of next year—and the final full Moon of winter—will be the “Worm Moon” or “Lentern Moon” on March 18, 2022. It occurs a couple of days before the spring equinox on March 20, 2022.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
